Over 70% say 1st-ever constitutional change in Japan needs broad consensus

TOKYO - More than 70 percent of the Japanese public favor building a broad consensus across political parties in moving toward an amendment of the Constitution, a Kyodo News poll showed Friday, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pushing to bring about a change to the postwar supreme law for the first time.

In contrast, 25 percent of respondents supported the idea of beginning to draft amendment provisions only with parties in favor of constitutional changes, according to the nationwide mail survey conducted ahead of Sunday's Constitution Memorial Day.